Alan Stewart’s UK and Ireland family history news

More prison hulk records go online

Records of nearly 9,000 convicts held on prison hulks have now been made available online.

Find My Past UK says: “You can now search records for 8,900 prisoners held captive on prison ships, or hulks. Hulks were ships used as floating prisons – often these were ships that were no longer fit for battle but were still afloat.

“This collection covers the period 1811-1843 and contains records for prisoners on the following hulks: Bellerophon (shown below), Euryalus, Hardy and Antelope, as well as a small number of records for Parkhurst prison.

“The records hold fascinating details about the prisoners, including the crime they had committed, the sentence they received and the report from their gaoler.